Thrice
by lyin
Summary: Under the emerald stars, they went to war to bring them down... Lily & James, when it comes to picking sides and defying Dark Lords- since isn't that what they do everyday? Three times they chose to challenge You-Know-Who.
1. augur

It's all J.K.'s, though if I was a billionaire I'd try to buy Sirius off her.

I'm sure it's been done, but I'm doing it anyways. I've never really written a Lily and James story, though I've written them, and the other day I simply was inspired. Officially, this is the prelude to a three-shot, I suppose- Three times they defied the Dark Lord, coming very, very, very soon. Reviews are welcomed and loved :D

* * *

"_I thought it best I speak to you both at once."_

"_Why? What is it? What's wrong?"_

"_Please sit down, Lily…"_

"_Come on, Lily, sit, you're making me look like a bum."_

"_You always look like a bum- excuse me, Professor Dumbledore. What is it? Alice looked…frightened."_

"_And she's never frightened."_

"_Yes. I have always found Alice to be a remarkable woman. I'm afraid I had the unhappy task of informing Alice and Frank it is likely they may be closely targeted by Lord Voldemort in the coming days."_

"…_So is that why we're here too?"_

"_Quite honestly, James, I'm not entirely sure. A- prophecy has come to light entailing the defeat of Voldemort-"_

"_What!- that's brilliant!"_

"_- at the hands of a child to be born at the end of July."_

"… _Lily's not due till August."_

"_August **third**, James." _

"_Still, though_..._ "_

"_Is there some reason to think it's us, sir?"_

"_Yeah, there's a lot of babies bound to be born in wizarding Britain. Er, sir."_

"_And in the Muggle world. A Muggle-born child might be fitting, considering."_

"_Unfortunately, a Muggle-born candidate seems unlikely. There is a particular clause… about the parents. So I must ask, and I'm sure you can understand the stress I must place on this question…how many times have you defied Lord Voldemort?"_

"…_Times? Isn't that what we do everyday?"_

"_I'm not sure I understand, Professor-"_

"_Would the graffiti Sirius and I put up by Knockturn count?"_

"_Don't be stupid, James, that wasn't even that funny- how many times each, or together? Not times face-to-face with Voldemort?"_

"_Yeah, that was only the once- and does it matter how recently? Because some of the louder stuff was a bit back now…" _

"_As you may know, prophecies incline towards the vague rather than specifics, and while we are fortunate to have some details, such helpful precision is beyond our grasp. I would, however, venture these instances might be moments of import- choices, decisions, some significant act of resistance. And while I, at least, found your and Mr. Black's 'Riddle-me-this' writing on the wall to be rather amusing and certainly insolent, James, I doubt we should consider it an act of significance."_

"_Probably not, sir."_

"_Do any such moments jump out at you? Either of you?"_

"_It's… funny, but we were actually just talking about this."_

"_I don't know if that's defiance, exactly, James."_

"_I don't think there's much I do that isn't somehow defiant, Lils. You know, Professor, we've had a few… offers."_

"_Incomprehensibly enough. And there was that first time-"_

"_Before the Order, even. Unless we count joining the Order…?"_

"_That's supposed to be a secret, though."_

"_Well, **supposed** to be… The T-shirt's something of a giveaway."_

"_It's still a bit indirect. Dung Fletcher's got one, and goodness knows he's not one of us. And you and I, we'd made up our minds by then. No, when it comes to picking sides- I'd have to say three."_

"_...Three, then. What the wife says goes."_

"_Three times?"_

"_Well… I suppose, sir. This- prophecy… does that mean something, then?"_

"_You are- quite sure it is three?"_

"_It's only a best guess, but sure enough, I suppose. Three seems- right, somehow."_

"_Is that bad?"_


	2. resist

Reviews are so very much appreciated. Thanks especially to HungarianWitch22, potterluverella, and sophia666, who first reviewed my very short prelude; here's what that set-up is for. Two more pieces on the way. I hope you enjoy it; con-crit is oh-so-_very_-much welcome and I'm always game for compliments, of course. :P

ARGH, my apologies to anyone who read this before i fixed this- i had some file errors where sentences disappeared :(. fixed now, but you'll probably never get to read it properly, you poor 10 souls on the hit count. :(

They're all J.K.'s, of course. If only she'd play around with them more and throw a few more morsels like the prequel our way!

* * *

_once_

Lily Evans felt bold that night, long before she saw the Dark Mark blooming in the sky, the very first time she'd seen its lurid green against dark clouds instead of against newsprint. She thought boldness might be catching off of James, who'd shown up alone at the Evans' door, broomstick in hand and cool-as-you-please. And cold, as well, since he hadn't dressed for the weather.

Petunia opened the door, noticed the broomstick in his hand, and slammed the door immediately.

It was lucky Lily came up right behind her, half-expecting from the slam it was Severus trying again and steeling herself to send him off. Through the door she could hear his lame "Have I got the wrong address?"

She threw the door open and watched James Potter's face light up, and tried to keep the responding happy skip of her heart in check. She ended up scowling so she wouldn't smile. "Are you mad? Don't you owl first? And James, it's winter, you need more than a shirt for outside, are you trying to catch your death?" She stopped, slightly nervously, and found herself patting down her hair. "Nothing's wrong, I hope?"

His stupid grin stayed in place, and he lifted his hand to wave at Petunia, who was bobbing angrily over Lily's shoulder. "Nothing more than usual," he said reassuringly, first, leaning his weight on his broomstick. "I'm no madder than I've ever been, merely brilliant, you'd have told me not to come if I wrote, and incidentally I'm not sure if you actually can _catch_ death, but if it can be done, I'm your man."

Her heart skipped again. His hair was more ruffled than she'd ever seen it, though it certainly wasn't windy out. She'd expect in this sleet it would be plastered to his head and wondered how long James had stood on her porch ruffling his hair before ringing their bell.

"I am cold, though," James added, crinkling his nose. "And, er, wet. Can I come in, Lily?"

"You not having enough sense to dress properly is no reason to let you in," said Lily, mock-primly, and she could sense the waves of relief exuding from Petunia. "But you're reasonably entertaining company," she said wickedly, darting a quick glance at her sister. "I'm sure you could join us-"

"No," hissed Petunia. "No, you wouldn't. You wouldn't dare. This is my day-"

"Evening, actually," said James helpfully. "If this is a bad time-"

"A very bad time," said Petunia rapidly, trying to close the door, but Lily stepped into the threshold with a "Not at all."

There was a ring of laughter from the kitchen, and James looked increasingly uncomfortable. "Are you having a party?"

"Who are you?" said Petunia, looking frustrated.

"You must be the sister," he said, nodding, and in an easy motion tossed the broomstick to his other hand so he could stick his right hand past Lily and offer it for Petunia to shake. "Hello, I'm James Potter."

"Fine, but who _are_ you?" said Petunia, withholding her hand and keeping it protectively close to her chest. "What does he want here?"

"Oh," said Lily flippantly, feeling as if she was walking on air. "He's this bloke from school I'm dating. Why don't we go on a walk, Potter- I'll get my coat."

The veins standing out on Petunia's neck stopped throbbing. She gave a stiff little nod and moved away quickly.

"Oh, all right then," said James, finally withdrawing his extended hand and looking behind him at the weather. "Lily," he said cautiously, looking a good deal less bold. "You do know the weather's a bit ugly?"

"We won't melt, James. Just stay right there," she warned him, and dashed for the slop room, past her parents, Petunia's fiancee Vernon, his horrid sister Marjorie and Mr. and Mrs. Dursley.

"Who is it?" asked her mother, looking up from her roast beef.

"A friend," said Lily, breathlessly, as she tried to get her hands through her coat sleeves despite having returned with them full. "I'm going out for a bit. Dad, I'm borrowing your coat."

"What's wrong with the one you're wearing?" said Mr. Evans, bewildered.

"Lily, you've hardly even eaten anything," said her mother in admonishment, with a lift to her tone that warned Lily to sit down.

"No, let her go," said Petunia, rather nastily. "Her boyfriend's here."

"Her what?" said Mr. Evans.

"You mean the Snape boy?" asked Mrs. Evans, looking at her oldest daughter.

Lily, hopping about as shoved got her galoshes on, looked up in annoyance. "He wasn't my-"

"Some new one," said Petunia curtly. "Something Potter."

"Oh," said Mrs. Evans, delightedly. "Why don't you ask him in, Lily?"

"No!" she and Petunia said simultaneously. Their guests stared.

Petunia cleared her throat. "He's from that school," she said, in a whisper that belonged on stage.

"I thought that was for girls with criminal tendencies?" said Vernon's sister, a croissant in her mouth.

"What?" said Mrs. Evans, bewildered.

"No, not at all. What a horrible thought," said Lily somberly, galoshes safely on and her dad's trench on her arm. "Enrollment certainly has no gender bias. It's equal opportunity for anyone with a properly felonious bent."

The Dursleys looked very disapproving, and also very much as if they wanted to get back to the meal.

Mr. Evans was trying desperately to hide his snorts in his napkin.

"Lily," said Mrs. Evans, desperate in a different way, "I really think we ought to-"

"Oh, she can go, Iris," said Mr. Evans, getting control of his chortling and waving her off. "Make sure the boy has you back before eleven and don't let him damage my coat-"

Lily dropped a kiss on his head, already moving past the table, calling, "Thanks Dad! See you all soon!"

Petunia had shut the front door, of course, and Lily flew it open again, hurriedly.

No one was on the porch. "James?" she called, shutting the door behind her and starting to feel a little put out.

"Here," he called from the front lawn. She hustled over, covering her eyes, and found him poking at the lawn gnome with his broomstick. "What's with the silly little dwarf?"

"It's a gnome," she said, pulling a knit hat out of her coat pocket.

James made a small disbelieving noise. "That's not a gnome. Come over to my place sometime, I'll show you gnomes."

"Your place?" she repeated, slightly too innocently, and he looked up, rocked.

Squinting through the sleet, she could see him patting at his hair. "Ah, well, my parent's place, you know. Gnomes," he continued, awkwardly, "are not ever that clean, or even that creepy. Though they might look funny in little hats. Is that coat for me?"

She tossed it to him.

He snagged it one-handed, still looking straight at her. "That's cute," he said, smiling. "You realize, of course, being seventeen means you don't need a raincoat."

"That's rubbish," she said, her mother's years of nagging kicking in, "however old you are you still ne- oh." Lily stopped, now kicking herself as she realized James' smile was widening and he really wasn't remotely wet. Impervious, probably. "You ruddy fibber- what was that 'I'm cold' nonsense about then?"

"I thought you might be more inclined to let me in then." He shuffled a little. "And I'm a bit cold," he added, putting on the coat over a ratty black T-shirt she was _sure _he had borrowed from Sirius Black and which probably fit Black much better.

"I'm not sure what to think about that," she said, musingly. "So, you either thought I'm so unfriendly that even now I wouldn't let you in-"

"That's not-"

"Or," she continued, struggling to keep her face McGonagall stern, "you thought you'd better hedge your bet on me being typically gullible-"

"No!" said James, ruffling his hair so frantically he seemed to be pulling it out. "Not really gullible- I'd say more like… soft-hearted. You're not going back in, are you?" he said anxiously.

"No," she said, grumbling as she reached into her skirt pocket for her wand. "I'm going to repel water the magic way and I'm annoyed I didn't think of it myself. And I don't want to go back in there, my sister's fiancée's family is over and they're simply wretched."

"More wretched than me?" he asked as she cast the charm.

She covered the tip of her wand with her hand so the small flare of light wouldn't attract any attention. "Oh, so much more wretched," she said dismissively, his face much more distinct now the sleet bounced away from her. "Vernon makes Lucas Bulstrode look like a catch."

James pulled a face, draping her father's coat over his broomstick. "Well, there's a chilling thought. So you're glad to see me?"

"Aside from the fibbing bit… Very."

"Oh," he said, stunned as she slipped him a smile. "Splendid. Give us a kiss?" he said, brassily, stepping closer.

She shoved his chest. "Don't push your luck, Potter."

He staggered back and lifted his eyebrows. "Right, we should probably get off your front lawn first." He eyed the loose way the coat draped about him appraisingly. "Someone in your house has very broad shoulders that make me think a decent first impression is very much in my best interest."

"Is that what you came here for?" said Lily, tongue resting on the back of her teeth as the laugh crept on her. "To meet my parents? Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Potter…"

His smile was a little weaker. "Two weeks of vacation's a long time, Evans."

"You missed me?"

He tapped his fingers against the handle of his broomstick. "Well – I didn't want you to go changing your mind on me, that's all."

She thought of several harsh retorts to that, and didn't remotely like him thinking so contrary. His expression, though, was so soft despite the angles of his face. "Have you ever had Chinese takeaway?"

"Does that mean you've changed your mind or that you haven't?"

"That, James, means dinner."

When James grinned, really grinned, his eyes crinkled until she could hardly see a sliver of hazel. "Are you asking me out, Lily?"

"Yes," she said, and held out her hand. He moved to take it, held up a finger, and dashed up her front steps to lean his broomstick surreptitiously against the door. Then he bounded back to her, looking relieved to find her hand still out. James took it, very quickly and carefully, the way she imagined he'd be careful with the delicate wings of a Snitch.

The sleet fell around them, a perfect shroud of streaking water and slips of ice that never came close to touching them.

"But-" Lily began, as James swung their hands forward, "you better be on your best behavior."

"Oh," he said, with a smirk that was somehow quite serious. "I solemnly swear."

* * *

James meant it, too. He let her lead him on the 'scenic route', without asking what inspired her to double back halfway towards the shortcut through Spinner's End, he opened the door and even held it for the seven people behind them, he even, rather magically, had Muggle money on him to cover the bill. "Sirius likes these little bits of paper," he said, putting back his lime green wallet and trying to cover the fact that it was magically shrinking. She'd entirely forgotten her pocketbook, so Lily found herself silently blessing Sirius' apparent preoccupation with Muggle things. "You ought to see what he _bought_ with them."

She was a little afraid to ask.

"Give us another week," he said thoughtfully, already peeking into the bag and its cartons, "and we'll have her in the air."

"Her who?"

"You'll see," James said, as mysteriously as he could manage, but the way he dipped his head just sent his glasses sliding down his nose. Instinctively, she reached out and pushed them back up.

He went very still for a second, until Lily said, "There," rather uncomfortably, and then he rattled on with, "This taking away business, sort of leaves you with nowhere to eat, yeah?"

"There's a park," she said, not even thinking about where it was or who she'd met there. "With benches."

"Benches," said James, "sound brilliant."

* * *

They never got to eat. The bag forgotten on the bench, she had to explain to James what swings were for -

("You sort of feel like you're flying."

"There's nothing _like_ flying. C'mon, _swinging?_ Rather lame, innit?"

"Not when you jump.")

-and then he discovered the teeter-totter-

("Well, this is a bit clever. Sit down, Lily, come on-"

"Really, I don't think my bum's impervious, it'll get all wet…"

"… Am I supposed to object?")

Lily really was never sure quite what to do with James, whether to slap him or walk away or kiss him, so she laughed and crossed her fingers that he'd manage to get up the nerve to try and kiss _her_ again.

She needn't have worried, since he was, after all, a Gryffindor.

But so was she. When he slipped in the cold mud dashing towards the slide, and went down flat, she went over laughing at him. Somehow, then, when he laughed too, a rich, vibrating sound that seemed to weigh down the air, and looked up through mud-smeared glasses (imperviousness, apparently, didn't extend to mud), and gave her a "Give me a hand?" that really meant _Let me pull you down with me_, before her mind could quite catch-up to the flutter in the back of her throat, Lily Evans dropped to her knees and pressed her lips against James Potter's so fiercely their teeth clinked.

He closed his eyes. She kept hers open.

It was one of those treasure moments, one of the ones Lily wanted to lock away to remember perfectly when her knees creaked and her mouth drooped and her eyesight had grown as bad as James'. It wasn't even especially magic, though they could reheat the food and clean her father's coat in an eyeblink and they weren't even particularly wet or cold. But still he was real, James Potter, here in her ordinary place and not the magic castle where she went off to school, and he'd _changed _but not oh-so-terribly much, or maybe it was her that changed- and for a minute, there was nothing else in the world that mattered, no one, nowhere, never.

She wanted to keep this second, the two of them laughing into each other's mouths, his tongue colliding with the roof of her mouth, the frame of his glasses brushing her cheek, the coarseness of the hair on the back of his neck against her hand.

There was a blaze of green behind his head then. She caught a glimpse of it in the upper corners of her eyes and blinked, still seeing green flares against her eyelids when she shut them.

"James," she said, pulling back, arms still around his neck though her face was tilting up.

It was brighter than she expected, and not as close. Somehow there was a new constellation in the sky, a snake and skull speckled out in stars as green as her own eyes.

James must have seen the light reflecting on her face when he opened his eyes at last. He craned his neck, nearly bending backwards and swore.

The green reflected against the sleet. It looked like it was over Spinner's End, Lily reflected, and wondered if she should tell James this.

"Snape lives thereabouts," she said, amazed at how matter-of-fact she sounded. "His dad's a Muggle."

She didn't have to even ask, because though his face grew shaded and thoughtful, James helped her up and nodded when she told him where to Apparate. "No, don't mind," she said, grabbing his arm as he started to turn. "Hang on to me, I know where we can see from."

Besides, she could manage it silently and she'd heard the volume of James' pop! throughout practice.

His grip squeezed her so closely it took a moment before she realized it was working.

They appeared in one of the narrow alleys Lily used to be frightened of because of the lack of a streetlamp, so close to being under the Mark she shivered. James let go, patting down the coat a bit and readying his wand.

It wasn't Snape's house. She could tell immediately, since it wasn't even on Spinner's End. With a sick feeling, though, she realized she knew the house.

James' eyes went magnetically to the figure hanging in the air from its ankles, neck at a strange angle. "Is that- " he whispered, swallowing, "a woman?"

Lily had known her. She lived on Bobbin Lane, one of the identical brick streets just over from Snape, and everyone hated her. The Muggles called her a witch, but then they wouldn't know any better, or how much she wished she was. "It's Miss Crouch," she said, voice catching. "She's a Squib."

"Crouch?" James repeated.

In summers Sev had done petty yard work for Miss Crouch, who was something of a friend of Mrs. Snape's, done it the hard Muggle way and gotten a few warnings from the Ministry when he'd tried to get around it. Miss Crouch paid him in casseroles, not cash. She'd called Lily a word she didn't care to remember, the one time she'd lounged around with her friend there.

"Oh God," said Lily. She stared at the Muggle neighbors who were coming out and the few masked figures prowling the shabby but always safe little street. In her town. Screams started and Silencing Spells swooshed through the night air. "We have to do something."

She looked for James on her left and had to wheel nearly all the way around to find him over her shoulder, turned away and looking into a mirror. "What's wrong with you?" she hissed. "Now's not the time to fix your hair, Potter! A woman's dead, people are hurt-"

"Sirius is coming," he interrupted, turning the mirror towards her, and she caught a flash of long hair, not hers, on the surface and heard an almost tinny voice saying something like 'going swimmingly' or 'getting Ministry'. "He'll get help- I think."

Lily was too distracted by the sudden of appearance of a mirror larger than both her hands to worry about the 'I think'. "Where'd that come from?"

"My wallet." He paused, and visibly bit the inside of his cheek. "Should we get out of here?"

"What?!"

James winced. "There's at least four of them and we've called the Ministry-"

"Fine," she said coldly, spinning on her heel and lifting her wand. "You go, then-"

He caught her arm, hard. His grip was extraordinarily tight. It almost frightened her. "Lily," James said, slightly desperately. "I don't want to go tell your sister I got you killed. Or give your dad back his coat and not his daughter. It's- not our job."

She wasn't sure what to make of his expression, as his eyes darted again and again over her face. "It should be," said Lily, boldly. Maybe she hadn't caught it from James after all. "It would be awful embarrassing, the Head Girl and Boy of Hogwarts running away from something like this. Let go of my arm, James."

He did. "It would be a disgrace," he agreed, smiling weakly. Something in his face, the way his chin went weak and his eyes didn't crinkle, said _It'll be you they're coming for, then_. Really, she didn't want that any more than he did.

She simply stared at him for a split-second, then glanced back at Bobbin Lane, and, very quickly, said, "Would you even hesitate, if you were with Sirius?"

"Hell no," said James at once, and Lily thought then she might well fall in this love with this boy. That the man this James Potter might become wasn't just someone she could be with but who she wanted to be with.

She thought she might have taken his hand and held onto it throughout, but they both used their rights for wand hands. And it might look a bit laughable. "Don't do me any favors, Potter," she said, and tightened her grip on her wand. There was another scream.

"On three, then?" said James, and she started running through all the curses and charms she knew from Dueling Club. She'd hardly thought of needing them for a firefight.

"One," she said in answer._ Stupefy_, of course, _Confringo_, Protego was essential, Confundo…

"Two," he said, fast, and nudged her shoulder with his. _Relashio_ to make them drop their wands, perhaps _Portus_ if escape became desperate- James was always up for illegality…

"Three," said Lily, thinking perhaps_ Oppugno_, and under the emerald stars, they went to war to bring them down.


	3. elude

A/N: I had the worst time with this chapter- the last one, which promises to be the shortest as well as the first I started, is all-but-done, but I had almost nothing but a plan for this one for a while. And then it just flowed, and somehow I'm pretty happy with it. Hope you like it, the last piece should be up within a day or two.

Please review, I really appreciate every word and it pushes me to write when I'm having trouble making myself - I have recurring running injuries, and when I can't run, I find it all-but-impossible to write, and though I'm really only power-walking/running a touch at the moment, I got through it since I didn't want to keep you all (okay, 3-4 of you) hanging. It's the only payment fanfic authors get, and it means a lot.:D

According to J.K. in interviews, Lily & James were asked to join Voldemort shortly after leaving Hogwarts**. **I think we can guess what they said. Enjoy!

* * *

_twice_

They were a week out of Hogwarts when they were asked.

James and Lily were both waiting, rather expectantly, to be asked to join the Order of the Phoenix. It was written up in the Prophet every other day, though Head Auror Alastor Moody fervently denied its existence. James' father knew about it, told them both to be ready when James took Lily to meet his Mum and Dad.

"It's small, the Order," said Mr. Potter, his brown eyes alive behind his glasses. James was glad, it seemed to be a good day. His father's face, though, was too thin for James' liking, the skin over his bones as brittle-looking as dried-out vellum and splotched with age spots the color of old blood. And his voice wobbled more than ever. It was scaring the hell out of James, how his parents had failed between Christmas and graduation. "Seeing how the world is going, it will not- it must not- stay that way. I'll be proud to see you on Albus Dumbledore's side, James."

James itched his hair above his ear, squinting abashedly. Dumbledore had spoken to them back in January, after they were written up for their citizen's arrest of the Death Eaters the paper had referred to merely as miscreants. The way Dumbledore'd warned them about _him_ having their names at once, about the dangers of standing up to a man like Voldemort, with such apparent pride, James had been expecting an invitation to the Order of the Phoenix within an instant of receiving his illuminated scroll diploma from Hogwarts School. "They haven't asked yet, Dad."

His father's mouth moved for a moment before he started speaking, and the hand he lifted to gesture trembled obviously. "Dumbledore's hand-picked Head Girl and Boy of Hogwarts, out of Gryffindor House? James, they will ask you. " James could see a glint of emerald as Lily's eyes caught the tremble, before flickering politely back down to Mrs. Potter's bony-knuckled but very soft hand, still patting hers.

His father must weigh less than Lily, now. James had never known his father's hair to be anything but white, silvering and fraying now, but he'd been a big man, once. He could hear it still, in his voice.

"I'd be disappointed if they didn't," said Lily, raising her voice and speaking very clearly. "Any side Professor Dumbledore is on is the right one."

"There's a girl," said Mrs. Potter, delightedly. She'd always wanted a daughter, too, James knew, and she was as thrilled with Lily as she was utterly surprised by her. She seemed befuddled when James tried to point out that Lily was the same girl he'd been talking about for years, insisting quite stubbornly he hadn't.

He'd checked with Sirius, to be sure. Sirius made clear he'd spoken about Lily a lot, but refused to believe Mrs. Potter was forgetting anything. _You know mothers_, said Sirius, looking away. _They're not always listening when you think they are_.

Not James' mother.

"Oh, Lily," said Mrs. Potter, "you haven't seen the garden yet, have you?"

"No, not really," said Lily. "I saw it on my way in, though, it looked lovely. I've never seen trees quite like those."

"They're bushes," James corrected.

Lily's nose bunched up a little, like she was on the verge of a frown. "They're three times your size, though."

"My mum's a dab hand with bushes."

His mother beamed at him, her eyes almost disappearing into the soft folds of her face. "It's looking a sight better since my James and Sirius took care of the weeds."

"Did you?" said Lily, looking tickled.

"It was nothing, Mum," said James. "We got to blow things up."

"You should show her," said Mrs. Potter. "Have you ever seen a proper wizarding garden before, dear? Besides, I expect James would rather spend his afternoon strolling with a lovely girl like you than sitting about with his old parents."

It was true, but Lily started immediately with a "No, I'm sure-"

"Really Lils," said James, looking at his mother's face and the bags under her eyes and suspecting this talk of war was overexciting his father. "Let me give you the grand tour."

The house wasn't much to look at, a large but standard enough estate house with a stretching hill behind that, to Muggles, looked like so much plain grass. James could see how Lily mistook the bushes for trees. Size was no way of telling them apart in the Potter's garden, where everything, like in any magic garden worth not salting, was bigger and somehow brighter, truer blues and redder reds.

Instead of trunks, branches exploded like a bouquet from the bases of their bushes, and the spindly wood twisted and tangled its way up to form muffin-shapes out of hand-sized leaves. Green dominated but some bushes were a deep wine shade, like a slice of autumn in May. There was a Venus Jarvey Trap off the brick path, and it was lined by purple snapping dragons that flowered in the shape of a dragon's head, with teeth-like stigmas inside their petal-mouths. James had to pull Lily's hand back before she picked one, laughing. Flowers pollinated by doxies always turned out poisonous, so he kept her clear of those, but he did lead her off the red brick to step under an ever-bloom bush, always in springtime's pink and white buds, to point out fairy cocoons. The silk lumps were radiant, threaded with pulsating silver and bronze against luminescent white, but Lily's cheeks lit up even brighter. She looked like she belonged there, with her red hair and evergreen robes to bring out her eyes, and James, for once that week, stopped minding that the Order hadn't asked him in yet.

He plucked and stuck a pink flower in her hair, and wouldn't let her take it out even when she complained it clashed.

His parents had gone to sleep by the time they made it back but James wasn't ready to see her home yet, not when at school he could see Lily so late. He'd have to do something about that, soon. He wondered if she'd be up to getting a place. Maybe, if he was lucky, she'd marry him.

"Let's go to dinner," he said, keeping his arm linked with hers.

Lily, abysmal pink flower still in her hair, looked up, amused. "Should we stop off and see if Sirius wants to come?"

"No," said James quickly, but then guiltily considered his best friend, alone in his flat. "Nah. Last time I went out with Sirius, three waitresses got in a brawl over who'd serve our table and the cook had to break it up. It took ages for us to get our cheesy potatoes."

"I'm sure," said Lily.

"Honestly, it was nearly a thirty minute wait, and then they'd only let the hump-backed warlock bring us our food. With you with me, though, hopefully they'll know enough to leave my devilishly handsome self in peace."

She twirled her wand in her free hand as they strolled off the warded property to Apparate. "They'd better," she said. "Nobody messes with the Head Girl of Hogwarts."

"Well, we're not really Head anymore now that our time's over- right, though, nobody messes with you, Lily Evans."

"Damn straight, Potter."

She'd liked his parents. His parents had liked her. And she hadn't said a word about how they looked, that they might have been his grandparents. She most definitely warranted the most expensive thing on any menu, but The Unicorn's Hind was so annoyingly posh. "The Green Dragon Tavern," he told her, as they went to Apparate, still arm-in-arm. She made a puzzled face. "Follow my lead."

The Green Dragon Tavern, in Leeds, was off the edge of a family neighborhood and looked like a rough sort of bar. Muggles, even the most daring, felt a strange horror of the ramshackle place, with walls that might once have been white and blacked-out windows, and some motorcycles parked outside that never, ever were moved except when Sirius Black was sixteen and trying to see if they were real.

The shingles, though, were a rather freshly painted green even if they were falling off, and no Muggle neighbor ever seemed to notice the wooden sign alongside the door with a large green dragon's head painted on it. If they noticed the dragon head puffed a constant steam that gave a rather smoky air to the building's front, none of the Muggle neighbors had ever complained, so far as James knew.

He saw Lily eye the sighing, painted dragon with a bit of a smile and thought he'd picked just the place. Shy of Hogwarts and London, the Green Dragon performed the best culinary craft around.

They were having a perfectly lovely dinner and starting a perfectly splendid argument over who'd take the bill this time, but when Lily excused herself to the washroom for a moment, James somehow had a feeling the night was going to take a less perfect turn. It had something to do with his certainty he'd spotted Evan Rosier in the corner of his eye, but as he tried to look around surreptitiously, pretending to pay attention to his napkin and tearing it to shreds, he couldn't find him.

"Funny seeing you here, James," came a voice from behind him, and James forgot instantly about Evan Rosier and felt guilty.

It was Sirius' voice, but without a grin in it, which was only absent when something was wrong. He didn't sound angry or annoyed, more friendly, but James figured he could have asked his best friend along.

He had an apology on his lips as he swiveled around, but ended up with his mouth hanging half-open, which James was sure looked rather dumb.

He'd forgotten how alike Sirius and his brother sounded.

"Regulus," said James, after a moment of the younger Black staring at him expectantly. He was sixteen, seventeen maybe, James didn't know. Shorter than Sirius at that age, narrower cheekbones, more hooded eyes. Perfect build for a Seeker. James wondered if he'd be the Slytherin Captain in the coming year. "Sirius was sorry not to see you at graduation," he said, unable to think of anything else, and mentally kicked himself immediately.

"I don't see my brother saying that," said Regulus, arching his eyebrow with a sophistication Sirius would never have mustered. "Not even to you, James." James, like they were friends. Regulus stepped around, gesturing to Lily's seat with a formality that Sirius would have recoiled from. "Mind if I have a seat?"

"Yes," said James swiftly, but Regulus flopped down across anyways, his dark hair bouncing up as he did. That was a more Sirius move.

"I was wondering if you'd like to join us," said Regulus casually, inclining his head to a table across the way. James followed his gaze to a table of mostly young men, all his year or Regulus'. He finally caught sight of Evan Rosier, almost cloaked by his five fellows and staring directly at James and Regulus. They weren't all Slytherins, though- James thought the sole girl had been a Hufflepuff, and there were a few he remembered as Ravenclaws, including a straw-haired, scrawny kid from Regulus' year whose father was some bigwig at the Ministry.

No sign of Rosier's friend Snape, thankfully enough.

"You might've noticed," said James lightly. "I'm on a date."

"With the Head Girl," Regulus commented. "You're both welcome."

James glanced at Rosier and the fellow Slytherins, then back at Regulus. He thought of his beautiful, very Muggle-born girlfriend. He almost said _You're not serious_ but thought better of it. "You're kidding. What do you want us for, target practice? I know what Evan's into." James hesitated. "What you're all into," he said, and crossed his fingers under the table in the hope Regulus would deny it.

"I don't think you quite understand what we're into," said Regulus, almost earnestly. "How're your parents doing, James?"

James stiffened, and he uncrossed his fingers to reach to grab his wand. "Is that a threat?"

"It's not a threat," said Regulus, rolling his eyes. "I'm- sorry- but I've heard they're faring poorly."

"They've got another good quarter century before they're due to fare poorly," snarled James, knowing it was a lie.

"I think they should have," said Regulus. "And so does _he_."

"_He_?"

"_Yes_."

"…we're not talking about Rosier, are we?"

"James-"

"Excuse me," said Lily cheerfully. "I'm afraid you're in my seat."

Regulus looked at her, noted she was fingering her wand, and flashed his gaze back across the table, quick. "James-"

He scooted over and patted the spot next to him, though it was a squeeze. "Have a seat, Lily," said James, eyes still on Regulus. "Sirius' brother and I are having a nice chat and I think this involves you, too."

"It does," said Regulus quickly, adding, more awkwardly, "Lily."

She sat, eyes a very dark green. It was a very tight fit, and she ended up partially on James' lap to avoid being more than half off the edge of the two-person booth.

"It's Regulus, isn't it."

"Yes."

James looked between them, plastering a smile on. "Regulus was just asking about my Mum and Dad."

"Oh was he?" Lily was much, much better at arching her eyebrow than Regulus could hope to be, James decided.

"I only wanted to-"

"Were sent to, you mean," James said sharply, watching the rest of the bar in the corner of his eyes. He suspected, from the way Rosier's mouth was moving, their conversation was being muffled. He wondered if that applied to shouts for help.

Regulus shrugged. "Maybe. I'm only trying to make clear," he glanced pointedly at Lily, "that both of you are- welcome to join us."

"Aren't you a sixth year?" said Lily, looking thunderous.

"I'll be a seventh," said Regulus, clearly insulted.

He should be practicing Quidditch, thought James. He wondered how to tell Sirius. If he told Sirius.

"We're not about what you think we're about-"

"We?" said Lily, shifting. Her hip was digging into James's side. "And this 'we', what do you call yourselves?"

Regulus grinned a little, such an unlikely and familiar expression on his thin, solemn face that James started a little and upset Lily's precarious position. "You know what we call ourselves. I doubt you understand why. Come and hear us out properly, James- and Lily, it's not only about blood, Lily- hear _him_ out properly. It's not you we want to fight. It's _death_."

They stared at him.

"It'd be the biggest win ever, James," said Regulus, leaning forward, elbows on the tabletop. His grin broadened. "C'mon, Potter, we both know you love to be on the winning team."

Only once, right after his friend's brother came to Hogwarts, had James ever mentioned it to Sirius- and the reaction hadn't been good- but James had always rather wished Regulus had been Sorted into Gryffindor. For one, they'd have had a Seeker who was more than decent, but it was more than that.

James' parents gave him everything, except the one thing he'd asked for more than anything.

He'd wanted a little brother.

_Brothers aren't only about blood_, his father told him, and they weren't. He'd found brothers for himself, he had Sirius, but though Godric knew Sirius could be immature, he certainly wasn't a kid brother. He had Peter for looking up to him, but it wasn't really the way he imagined it to be, having someone to show the ropes to, follow him around and play with, who'd get almost-as-good-but-not-quite. Sirius insisted it wasn't all it was cracked up to be, but James envied him Regulus, if only a little, even though he wasn't exactly junior Marauder material.

But Regulus Black was such a bloody good Seeker.

James was a bit frightened of _him_ then. To send Regulus to ask him and Lily, their Dark Lord knew more than their names. He knew them.

Because for a moment, with Regulus, so genuinely passionate, asking, with the image of his parents, their hair dark like he'd only seen in photographs, young and alive for years to come and the very idea of crushing death like in some fairy tale, to live with Lily forever, dancing before him, James really, really wanted to say yes. He wanted to hear what _he_ had to say, Dark Lord or no.

He looked at Lily, once, then straight at Regulus, still grinning like his brother. "You tell _Voldemort_ we said 'no'," said James clearly.

Lily slid out from the booth in a second and he stood up, on their heels. He met her eyes and shifted his own towards the swinging door the waiters came through. She lifted her chin, almost imperceptibly.

"You always choose the wrong side, Potter," said Regulus, disappointedly, something almost sad flickering in his eyes. James wondered, for a moment- both he and Regulus knew, where James Potter went, so did Sirius. He made a hand gesture to the table of young Death Eaters in wait.

Evan Rosier rose to his feet. Glowering. James had never liked Rosier's looks, but he liked them a lot less now.

"Ta, Reggie," said James, as Lily grabbed his free hand and yanked him in the direction of the door.

They ran, before they could find out if there were men in masks or dementors waiting somewhere outside, but bolted for the kitchen and the back door. James, pulled along, ran practically backwards, casting the Shield Spell since he could tell by the drawn wands from the far table that nonverbal spells were coming their way.

"They're following," he said to Lily, and with a spell she sent the door they were running towards flying open.

She nearly wrenched his arm out of its socket as they fled onto clear ground, Disapparating instantly, first Apparating to York, where they barely stayed a second, then to Scarborough. They stood and caught their breath before Apparating as far as London, not far from St. Mungo's.

"Are we good?" said Lily.

"I don't think they're good enough to track us this far that fast," said James. He thought it was a good thing they hadn't asked Sirius to dinner, he was rubbish at Apparating and it would have been hard taking turns doing side-along with three. "You're alright with the 'no', right?"

"_Of course_ I'm alright with the no, what are you-"

"Well I thought so, but I wasn't sure what you'd think about me speaking for you."

Lily paused to think, nodding slightly and pulling in her upper lip. "Our parents," she said faintly. "Are they going to come after them? Us?"

"I don't know," James said, feeling helpless, and glancing around to be sure they hadn't been noticed by any passerby. There were just off a street, and for a moment, they listened in silence to the whir and bustle of traffic.

There was a sudden crack! next to them and they both whirled, James already shouting "_Stupefy_!"

The man who'd Apparated alongside them deflected the spell quickly and held up his hands, smiling broadly at them. He was very nearly bald, with only the remnants of sideburns hanging in there, and had a gold tooth that glinted in the light filtering down the street through headlights. "James Potter, a Stunning Spell's a bit of a schoolboy spell, don't you think? Still, better reflexes than you, Miss Evans. We'll have to work on that."

"Who're you?" snapped Lily, not lowering her wand a smidge and looking decidedly ticked off.

James blinked at him. He'd met him before. "Mr. Bones?"

"Call me Edgar," he said, reaching out his hand.

James didn't take it. "How do I know you're who I think you are?"

"Better," said Edgar. "When you were fourteen, I questioned you, off-the-record, on suspected importation of the shards of a Chimera egg, which, like the eggs themselves, are a Class-A non-tradable good. And I'd still like to know what you wanted with those, James."

"Unproven," said James, breathing again and taking Bones' hand. He shook it firmly. "Lily, this is Edgar Bones. Head of the Division for the Enforcement of Magical Contrabands."

"What're you following us for?" Lily said insistently, only lowering her wand a half-inch.

Bones laughed a big-bellied laugh. "We don't let little creeps like Evan Rosier wander about unwatched."

"That's more than I'd expect from the Ministry," said Lily, sounding somewhere between suspicious and impressed. James waited, expectantly.

"You bet your bottom dollar it's more than the Ministry, Miss Evans- mind if I call you Lily?" said Bones. "The Order of the Phoenix has got your backs. Frank Longbottom's even paying your _bill_. But that's Frank for you."

James, idly, realized he'd completely forgotten about the check and wondered if the proprietors of the Green Dragon thought they were running out on that. He would have laughed if he wasn't so thrilled to be asked. "You're asking us to join the Order, aren't you, Mr. Bones?"

"Edgar," he corrected. "Mum's the word, but there's a meeting the two of you should be in on tomorrow night. Your Professor Dumbledore would like to see you there."

"Where?"

"Be ready to hear from us tomorrow night," said Bones mysteriously.

"Well," said Lily, looking punch-pleased. "I think we can manage that."

Bones nodded to her, gold-tooth sparkling, and moved to back away. "We'll have someone watching your homes, so sleep sound. You'll need it- it'll be your turn soon enough. That isn't all there is to it, saying no," he added, his voice deepening. "They'll be after you with the Imperius next. You'll have to be on your guard. And being in the Order- well. Makes it a bit worse. So do- think on it."

James could feel Lily's eyes on him. "We don't need to," she said quietly, looking at Bones pointedly.

"There's a girl," said Bones, admiringly.

"So I hear," said Lily.

Bones waved a bit and started to turn on his heel to Apparate, but James, quick, remembered something.

"Oi, Edgar," he said swiftly. "I can bring some friends, right?"

Edgar turned, face solemn, and James felt his heart skip once, horribly, before he beamed. "James," he said. "I think Dumbledore'd be disappointed if you didn't. And- unofficially- welcome to the winning side."

He was gone in a wink, leaving just Lily and James. James felt like crowing in triumph, but resisted. He supposed they were, really, in a sort of trouble, but then he usually was, only this time, there was something for his father to be proud.

He looked at Lily, who smiled at him, green eyes sparkling, and for James Potter, that felt like triumph enough.


	4. dare

Author's Note:

So... this is it. :D Thanks so much to my wonderful reviewers- and a special thanks to those of you who recommended this fic at the Reviews Lounge, I was flattered and really appreciate it- and I would love to hear what anyone reading of this thinks of this chapter, good or bad, or even just a 'hey, i read it' means a lot since... well, I spent my Saturday morning finishing it and it makes it feel worthwhile. :D Actually, the majority of this chapter was the first part of this story I wrote... so I suppose it's all been coming out of (coming down to?) this.

anyways, hope you enjoy- I thought about having another conversation for symmetry, but, I finished and this really felt like it. In a lot of ways, this is a story about conversations. So this is it for Thrice, but I have more stuff coming for a while, so if you like, Author Alert me or just check back. Thanks again for reading- lyin'

* * *

_thrice_

James looked twelve again when he slept, without the glasses that hid his long eyelashes and drew attention to the sharp line of his nose. He'd promised to tend the annuals he'd planted, but Lily felt sure the hot July morning would wilt them, for the expected rain hadn't arrived, and she was stir-crazy already, awake, alone, and hesitant. She hadn't learned, yet, how to harden her heart and shake him awake before noon when he only rolled over at her touch, murmuring and pulling at the sheets like a boy.

She took her wand and went out the side door to water the flowers he'd gotten her. They were colorful in the morning sun, the purple and pink of the impatiens looking almost obnoxious for a moment beside whatever subtler flower James had put next to them, the sky blue ones with the white center.

Casually, Lily cast the charm silently and sent water spurting from her wand tip into the parched soil. While watering the baby blue ones, she caught the scent, wafting in the air– a scent of crushed apples.

James had crushed one of the flowers in his palm once, to let Lily get a whiff of the scent they emitted when walked on. It had made her want to stamp them down, just to feel for a moment like she had her own apple orchard outside her door.

Lily looked over her shoulder, to the flowers on the other side of the door, and noticed that the ones that looked like daisies were matted down and not springing back up. She'd half-expected James to be awake and watching her, or more likely, Sirius to have arrived for morning tea and been careless where he was stepping, but instead Lily found no one.

There was only an almost solid haze, though she could see through it, as if heat were pouring off some fire and weighing on the air.

An invisible someone was standing on the chamomile.

She should have been frightened, but she merely turned her wand and jetted water at the heavy-looking air. It framed a cloaked shape for a moment, pooling over stooped shoulders and a bowed head, and then Severus Snape, only slightly wet, pulled off an Invisibility Cloak.

He stared at her, meeting her eyes. "Lily-"

"You're not welcome here," she said coolly, ending the spell and keeping her hand clutched around her wand. "And I don't recall giving you a forwarding address."

She'd have to improve the wards, later, preferably before James woke and worried and tried to do it himself. She was so much better at wards- though apparently not good enough.

"No," he agreed, echoing her tone as he shook scattered drops out of his hair with as much dignity as possible. "That you didn't."

She should have soaked him more. His hair could use a good wash.

He never could take care of himself properly.

"And I must say I'm surprised," Severus said, with a touch of a sneer. "I would've expected Potter to manage to get you at least a manor."

It was a little house, still bigger than the cottage she'd dreamed of, but she felt for the first time defensive of its size. They'd picked it out before James lost his parents, and though they'd talked about taking his parent's home, Lily didn't think she could bear starting their marriage in shadows of loss and memory anymore than James could. They were new. The house was, too. "It's our house," she said, a touch angrily. "I love it."

A flash of old awkwardness danced across Sev's face and then the sneer was back in place. "I suppose you would."

"What do you want?" Lily demanded impatiently, lifting her wand. She'd had too many years of this game, and she'd outgrown it years back. It felt like a long time ago now.

Still, she was too impatient, perhaps. She hadn't seen Sev since school, except across streets and alleys without so much as a wave, and already she was wishing her once-friend gone. It made her feel a little sorry for them both. His expression looked sorry now, too.

"I came to offer you a last chance, Lily."

"Oh," she said, horrified. She almost lowered her wand in surprise but thought better of it. "I wish you wouldn't." She suspected, she _knew_, that he was still with Mulciber's crowd, and she knew where they were, but in her heart of hearts she hoped he was better than that. If only by a bit.

He wrung the glimmering Invisibility Cloak in his hands, presumably to get the water out. His knuckles were whiter than the rest of him. "Lily…I don't want to see you dead."

"I'd rather see you dead than with Voldemort," she said, quietly, and watched him wince. She wondered if it was in response to the name or to her.

He didn't deny it. "I hope you don't mean that," he said instead.

"Is this the part where you tell me your Dark Lord is merciful to give us another chance to take his side- especially a _Mudblood_ like me?" Lily asked, more flatly and cruelly than she could remember hearing her own voice in a very long time.

Severus' jaw slackened. "He is anything but merciful," he said rapidly, half-hissing it. "You don't know what I've -

"I don't care to know," she said. "Get out of my garden, Snape."

He jumped out as if snake-bit, moving onto the little walkway between the garden bed and the grass.

"You think you'd all get the idea," said Lily, throwing back her head a little to push her hair off her face. "We're _against_ you. All of you."

His expression stiffened. "I grasp that concept perfectly well," said Snape. "We're not blind to your little army following us around. Black and _Potter_ appear to lack even the remotest competence at surreptitiousness."

James and Sirius weren't exactly subtle, Lily knew, and the motorcycle didn't help. But she still bristled at the slight. "Sorry," said Lily, lifting her wand a little, "but by _Potter_, are you referring to James- or _me_?"

The molten blackness of his eyes showed no emotion, but they seemed to darken almost imperceptibly. Lily couldn't distinguish his pupils from the irises anymore. "Ah yes, Mrs. Potter," he said silkily. "I suppose you spend your days gallivanting with Black as well, when you're not playing housewife."

"I really don't care what you think," she said, and stepped towards the door.

"Please," said Snape, looking as if his neck was being wrung to squeeze the word out. "Listen to-"

"We're not going to join you," snapped Lily, still keeping her wand on him and reaching behind her for the doorknob. "And Regulus Black, at least, asked politely-"

"The Dark Lord doesn't want you anymore," said Snape lowly. "He doesn't ask twice."

Her hand froze on the knob mid-turn. "Then what is it he wants with us?"

"He doesn't care about you," said Snape, in a rapid-fire hiss. "Not yet. The Dark Lord has your names, Lily Potter, you and all your impudent friends, and he doesn't care what sort of blood you might possess or have married into, only that you're standing in his way."

"Yes," she said. "We are."

"Don't sound so pleased with yourself! You're all marked- your time's coming- but Lily, you and Potter – he'll let you go. He'll let you live. All you have to do is stand down."

She didn't respond. Snape seemed to find this heartening, and stepped forward a touch, stooping his head and plunging on. "Pride," he spat. "It will destroy you. You can't stop him, Lily. Who do you think you're saving, you and your precious Order with its pureblood children and their insipid _pride_- the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts- oh, yes, we know exactly who you are."

"We're not hiding," said Lily. "We're not the ones wearing masks."

"And that is your downfall," he said, black irises swallowing the whites of his eyes. "He's going to start coming for you fools. Day by day you are writing your own death sentences and this is the only chance you will have at reprieve. Today, you can leave. Run away- take a honeymoon, move if you must, but defy him again and he will find you wherever you go. You're not the only side with foreign allies. Nowhere will be safe, unless you stand down. You don't see the MacMillans rising up," he said, growing more desperately angry. "Nothing from the Spinnets or Scrimgeours or even the godforsaken Weasleys. No noise out of the Crockfords or Delaney-Podmores-"

That wasn't entirely true but Lily thought better of saying as much. "I've never sat back simply because that was what everyone else was doing." She met his eyes. "Or have you forgotten, _Snivellus_?"

This time his features betrayed nothing. "No," he said carefully. "I forget nothing. I am only trying to give you one last chance to save you from yourself. Else you best pray- _pray_- it is years before his eyes turn to you." He made a motion as if he was going to step closer and reach for her hand, but stopped as she straightened out the wrist of her wand hand. The Invisibility Cloak hung limply in his hand, catching the shimmer of morning glinting in the air and off the dew glistening on grass blades and flower buds.

He must have been waiting beside her door for some time to say this to her, standing on her flowers. Snape knew exactly how early she'd be up in summers. She used to run over to his house first thing after she got up, though he was always already waiting. Lily pulled her lips back under her teeth, and watched her old friend for a moment.

"Seventh year," she said at last, and the curt words tasted of long ago on her tongue though it was little more than a year past. "Miss Crouch. Was that you? Sev?"

He said nothing for a moment, then, quickly, "That's irrelevant."

She shook her head, back-and-forth, very gently. "You'd best pray for yourself."

"_Lily_," said Snape, and she flinched because this time her name was a plea. "Don't throw this chance away so carelessly." She thought he was forcing himself to speak softly. "Shouldn't you see what Potter has-"

"I'm his wife," said Lily, hurling the words at him even as she flung open the door to her house. "I can speak for us both. So you tell him, your Voldemort, you tell him we said to try. Come on then, come and get us. The Order's waiting."

He stared at her, paling. Lily wondered if he would tell him, or if Voldemort would simply pluck it out of his head.

"You silly girl," breathed Snape.

"Quite possibly," said Lily. "Telling _me_ to stand down, though- what do you call that?"

She stepped back through the open door, studying his by-now anxious expression. "You don't know me at all," said Lily Potter.

And she flicked her wand.

The door shut in his face. She made another gesture, swishing it, and the locks clicked into place.

Lily took a deep, steadying breath and found her hands had started shaking, worse than after the fight against the dementors in Holyhead, worse than the first time she saw Voldemort, or when the ground shook, too, with the giants crossing the Channel.

She strode towards the bedroom, quickly, speeding up until she was racing through her house and bolting towards James.

He looked sound asleep, but when she stopped short at the edge of the bed, breathing hard, he cracked open his eyes. To his credit he didn't bolt upright, but barely moved, reaching to the night table for his wand.

"'S'matter?" he said, still lying down and rubbing at the sleep gunk in his eyes. "Who died?"

"Nobody died," said Lily immediately. "Not today."

James sat up and put on his glasses. "Alright, what did Sirius do then?"

She held onto the bed post, leaning forward. "Haven't seen him yet, so I don't know the latest. And no, it's not Remus or Peter either, nothing like that, James."

He tried to untangle himself from the covers, to no avail. "You look sad… The last time you looked like that there was a dead dog on the doorstep." Lily remembered. It hadn't even been their dog, just the neighbors'. It was why they didn't let the cat out anymore. At least one of the Death Eaters seemed preoccupied with pets.

"Do I?" she said absently, and pulled herself up onto the bed, sitting cross-legged and sinking into the mattress. "Snape was here."

He was getting better. James didn't react, though she could tell by the vein that appeared on his arm what he thought of that news. "Oh?" he said. "Ol' _Sev_?"

"That's funny," said Lily, with a glare. "_I_ called him Snivellus."

"I love you."

"Only once."

"I still love you," James assured her, still smirking and finally kicking himself free of the covers and tossing them off the bed entirely.

"Don't you want to know what he wanted?" asked Lily, dodging as James plunged to kiss her.

His brows lifted towards his very mussed hair. "Oh, I know what he wanted. And you'll tell me what he said he wanted," he added, flopping back, out of her reach, as Lily went to hit him.

"Gave us a last chance to stand down."

"What, me too?" said James, amused. "From You-Know-Who?"

"Oh, don't call him that, it isn't funny- yes. Threats and ultimatums, the usual."

James touched her wrist lightly, and she tilted her chin up to meet his eyes, which looked rather soberly brown at the moment. "Didn't try to Imperius you, though," he muttered thoughtfully, and it wasn't quite a question.

She thought about that for a moment, let James pull her closer. Her hands weren't shaking anymore. "I'd only have thrown it off," she murmured confidently.

"Yeah. You're good like that. Told him to shove it, hm?"

"Essentially." Lily hesitated, because it hadn't quite been the usual. "He didn't want us to join this time, James. Only to stand down."

"What, Snape told _you_ to stand down?" He was frowning in concern, but there was still the tug of a smile in the corner of his eyes.

"We said no," she informed him, letting him slide an arm around her waist and pull her back against the propped-up pillows.

"I wouldn't have said it so nicely."

"I wasn't at all nice," said Lily, letting annoyance seep in.

"Right. And again, I wouldn't have said it so nicely."

She leaned back against him, his warmth almost too-hot in this summer weather. His skin was still pinker than usual from sleep. James blew on the back of her neck, making her start a little.

"He stepped on the chamomile," she told him, feeling rather muzzy. "It looked crushed."

"I'll plant more."

Lily found herself thinking maybe she had left bed too early, that really it might be quite nice to stay in all day, and that it was a good deal more comfortable with the covers off and James awake…

There was a whoosh from downstairs and an immediate clatter.

"Not the Floo," muttered James against her neck, his head half-under her hair.

"PRONGS!" bellowed a voice from downstairs.

They waited to hear what was wrong before they moved.

"GET OUT OF BED! BIG DAY AHEAD OF US!"

Lily laughed a little as James made a very small, unhappy sound, before muttering, "I'll kill him…" She sprang up.

"I'M SCRAMBLING EGGS!"

"Sirius does make good eggs," said Lily, smirking, as James slid his legs off the bed and blinked at her.

"Funny, given that he's such a bad egg…"

She reached for the nearest balled-up shirt, the golden bird showing through even inside-out, and tossed it as his chest. "You both are."

James caught it perfectly, of course. "We both are," he said, and smiled.

Lily really liked being Lily Potter, quite a lot. She hoped Snape was wrong. He was wrong quite a lot, whatever he thought, at least in the company he kept. She could hear pots banging as Sirius rummaged through the cupboards downstairs. He never could remember where she kept things.

"You know," James said, lifting his finger to his lips in a funny sort of shush as he reached under the bed for his shoes, "speaking of good eggs and all, there really is no one I'd rather have on my side than you, Lils."

"Not even Sirius?"

"Oh, he might be prettier, but you're a better bet in a fight."

Lily felt a bit selfishly proud of that. It was starting to feel, somedays, like James was her best friend along with everything else, even though Sirius was his. "You're a pretty good choice, too, Potter."

He looked up at her, still searching. "No regrets?" he said, almost teasingly but not quite.

She knew he was thinking of Severus and rolled her eyes. She didn't know what was coming but she hadn't budged an inch as Lily Evans- except over James, but that was _right_- and Lily Potter certainly wasn't giving ground either. "Never."

"Good," said James, jumping up and stifling a yawn. "You won't tell Sirius I said that, though, right?"

"Cross my heart," she said, and took his hand, and they went out together to defy the day.


End file.
